Oklahoma Highlights

Tobacco use remains the leading cause of preventable death and disease in the United States and in Oklahoma. To address this enormous toll, the American Lung Association calls for the following actions to be taken by Oklahoma’s elected officials:

In a disappointing development, after passing a bold law in 2022 removing penalties on youth caught with tobacco products and replacing them with education and cessation courses, Oklahoma lawmakers in 2023 reversed course through House Bill 2165 to enable monetary penalties of up to $100. The tobacco industry spends an estimated $149.5 million marketing their addictive products to Oklahomans, and financial penalties for youth use of these products are both ineffective and impose an unequal burden on families.

With the failure of House Bill 2238 in 2023, the state of Oklahoma now requires manufacturers of e-cigarette products to attest to the Oklahoma Alcoholic Beverages Law Enforcement (ABLE) Commission that they either have applied for a Premarket Tobacco Product Application to the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA) or have received a marketing order authorizing the sale of said products. The ABLE commission has since published a directory and it will be unlawful for any person to manufacture, distribute, or sell any product not listed in the directory. It could provide a useful tool for the state to crack down on illegal sales of e-cigarette products if the state conducts regular compliance checks on e-cigarette retailers.

Several promising bills were filed but did not receive approval by the legislature. These include bills to repeal preemption of local authority to pass tobacco control policies, to prohibit smoking in cars with children present and to allow pharmacists to prescribe nicotine replacement therapy (NRT) directly to customers. Additionally, a bill that would impact the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust’s (TSET) investment of tobacco settlement funds did not become law. House Bill 2254 would have required TSET to invest 4% of funds in Oklahoma-based venture capital companies and funds.

The American Lung Association continues to build partnerships across the state, uniting those in tobacco control through the Oklahoma Tobacco Control Alliance, which local Lung Association staff chair. Thanks to investments from both the state department of health and TSET, multiple public awareness campaigns were launched across the state, including a focus on the tobacco industry’s deception marketing practices, menthol tobacco products, rural tobacco use and mental health and tobacco.

The American Lung Association calls on lawmakers to continue their work by focusing penalties on those who sell tobacco and e-cigarette products. There remains no required permit to sell addictive e-cigarette products. Additionally, secondhand smoke remains a concern for the health of all Oklahomans, and the Lung Association encourages the state to remove its local preemption laws and support a statewide smokefree indoor air law. Finally, the state must stay vigilant in protecting the Tobacco Settlement Endowment Trust, a key factor in the state’s above average tobacco control funding.